


Reunions

by smithy_of_words



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Before Lair of the Shadow Broker, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 03:44:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8148085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smithy_of_words/pseuds/smithy_of_words
Summary: Liara and Shepard reunite for the first time on Illium.Set before Lair of the Shadow Broker (where they resolve things on a much more positive note).One-shot.





	

The Normandy docked on Illium, and the shore party—Shepard, Miranda, and Garrus—were met by an ambassador. Miranda and Garrus wanted to look at the shops, test out new weapons, visit a club, and generally just see the sights. After all, an asari city made the ones back on Earth or Palaven look like backwaters by comparison. (Having accrued so much wealth and knowledge made for one hell of a display, and everything was designed with elegance in mind.)

But all Marin Shepard could think about was Liara. The ambassador had said she could be found near the trading floor. Garrus quipped that he didn’t remember Liara being much of a gambler, and Shepard had found it odd at the time; but as they made their way over to the market, all Shepard could think about was Liara: her face, how her voice sounded, the little noises she made when she slept, the look of concentration that she got when studying--everything.

As they approached the stairs, Shepard signaled for Garrus and Miranda to wait for her return, and made her way up.  Nodding at Nyxeris, she swallowed as she stepped through the open door; there Liara was, her back facing Shepard, as she looked out over Illium. Shepard heard her threaten to flay someone alive with her mind, and noticed an edge to Liara’s voice that she didn’t remember being present before. Shepard chewed on her lip, inexplicably nervous now that the moment of their reunion was at hand.

Finally, Liara put down her tablet and spun around, her eyes lit with joy. “Shepard!”

“Liara, it’s good to see you.” The knot in Marin’s stomach came a bit undone.

The two embraced, and Liara pressed a quick kiss to her lips, but Shepard noticed the hesitancy in Liara’s actions, as if a wall existed where none had before.

They sat down and chatted about this and that, Liara’s job, her contacts—almost as if nothing had changed, and they were all sitting around the mess, laughing until they ached. But everything _had_ changed; Shepard had died. And while Liara was nattering on, revealing what she had been up to in the last two years, Shepard felt unexpected bitterness well inside her.

“—and then, of course, I came here. Naturally, I was able to get a good price on an apartment, but it didn’t have any furnishings. I have no real taste in anything of--”

“Why didn’t you come to see me?” Shepard blurted out.

Liara looked down at her lap, clearly uncomfortable. “Shepard. Goddess, I…”

“You knew I was alive,” Shepard continued, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. “You knew, and I’ve heard nothing from you these past couple of months. I want to know _why_.”

Liara met her gaze, but quickly looked away, as if she were ashamed. “Shepard… _Marin_ …Cerberus didn’t want me to have any contact with you after…after they brought you back. They said that I would be a distraction, and that as a condition of bringing you back just as you were, I would probably not be able to see you again. They said that you were going to be focused on human matters. I…I didn’t want to intrude.”

Shepard’s mouth gaped open. “Condition…that means that you--” 

“I gave them your body, yes.” Liara sighed. “But you must understand how scared we all were, how devastated I was. You dying, it split the crew apart, and nearly ended me.”

“So you gave me to a terrorist organization?” Shepard spat, a few tears now spilling down her cheeks. “You wanted me back so badly, that you didn’t care if they fucked me up? Turned me into a monster? How could you betray me like this?”

Liara’s hands gripped her clothing tightly, blue fists nearly white with exertion. “No! It’s not…it wasn’t like that. They promised me that you’d be exactly the way you were. They said that you were humanity’s hope, and that you didn’t just belong to me anymore—they needed you to save your people. I knew it was a long shot, but if it meant you living again, and I could help your people…Shepard, I had to do it!”

Marin sat in silence, processing everything that had just been said. Finally, she pushed her chair backward and stood, nodding. “Well, since that’s all in the open now, I think we’ve said all we needed to say, don’t you? If my team needs any more information while we’re on Illium, I’ll be sure to have Miranda contact you.”

Liara sprang to her feet, mirroring Shepard’s body language. “Marin, please. You can’t just go, not now. Can we at least agree to meet later? Please, it’s been two years.

Marin’s dark blue eyes, that were usually so warm, looked cold and intimidating, and Liara suddenly understood what it felt like to be on the receiving end of one of Shepard’s menacing glares.

“Yes, it has been.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this turned out much sadder than I had anticipated.  
> Not to worry--they get their happy ending (in LOTSB and ME3, and after, if I had my way).  
> Enjoy!  
> As always, comments and critique are welcomed.  
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
